Critical Reflection

In case of technical difficulty, the written version of my narration can be found here.

Final Product

*click on photos to view in best quality*

Coming Full Circle

I'm not one to believe in destiny or chance; not even luck. The world merely turns, completing one full rotation which we call "a day"; each day's happenings, well, are just that. But, there are some exceptions I cannot explain. Like yesterday, when I was thinking, "What will my last blog post be?", and decided to scroll through my FaceBook feed (as any distracted teenager would do). What I came across could not more perfectly capture the essence of my project. Let me show you.

I read this post and my first thought was, "Wow, what a heck of a coincidence." This perception of feminism held by those guys is what my magazine, from day one, has striven to counteract. But then, it dawned on me. My magazine is only aiding me in passing a class. It only resides here; nobody is reading it other than my instructor and Cambridge. This makes me quite sad. So, I've been inspired to create a new blog for my own personal observations, arguments, and advocacy; a blog I can share with the world without worrying about whether I AICEd a test or not. (I'm sorry, but I had to.) I've also been inspired to apply to be a writer for the Odyssey Online, a venue for young voices to be discovered and expressed. Before this project, I was completely apprehensive toward being bold and making a statement. This project has freed me from my irrational insecurities.

Before I let you go, I've compiled a list of last minute key takeaways:

• Equality is good
• Equality is NECESSARY
• Equality is LONG OVERDUE
• You can make a difference
• I believe in you
• Did I mention equality? Because yeah, it's important
• Not everything is temporary. Okay, yes, the world will one day explode and all this civilization we've instituted along with all the life underneath will one day amount to absolutely nothing. But in real time, my voice reaches another, and then another, and then another. It doesn't stop, unless you let it. Don't let it stop. Let it go. 

Sappy conclusions aside, I sincerely hope that this project speaks to you, and inspires you to speak, too. Here's a pic of me with the feminine emblem woo! I can't wait for everyone to see my final product. Over n' out!!

Critical Reflection Narration

I am posting the narration for my critical reflection that I am going to record via voicethread after school. This will be linked to my final posting just in case the audio malfunctions. So happy that my project, aside from last minute touch ups, is done. :) I am going to post once more tomorrow going over the progression of my cover story's two-page spread.

This is my magazine, Fembrace. I came up with the title by combining the two words "feminism" and "embrace." My magazine's statement of purpose is "Embracing others through the pure conventions of feminism."

• The product:  This specific issue, made for the month of April 2016, adheres to one specific color scheme/design. As you can see, the dominant hues across the cover as well as the table of contents are grey, white, orange, and black. If I were to actualize this magazine, each issue would showcase a different color scheme. The reason I am doing this is because the universal nature of the colors provides the sophistication I am aiming for. Along with that, the combination of bright and dark colors adds an artistic twist. Working together, these clean yet artistic elements aid my product in appealing to the wide range of audience members I am striving to attract. 

1. The cover: The masthead, which is the black text featuring my magazine's name at the top,  I plan to keep the same for each issue. This allows for easy recognition and again reiterates the sophistication I desire. In order to artistically manipulate the masthead, I have incorporated a hand-drawn orange equal sign that lines up with the letter "F"'s flags in the masthead. Promoting equality is a huge theme of my magazine, and this is a quirky, clever way to highlight that. The cover photo features the main subject of my cover story with the feminine emblem as cardboard cutout for her face to fit into. I did this also to symbolize a theme of my magazine, which is that every individual is deserving of equal status, which is what feminism as portrayed in my magazine is all about. I decided to give my magazine a statement of purpose that I would put on the cover of every issue if it were real. This statement of purpose highlights the sophistication and seriousness of my magazine.
2. The table of contents: I kept the table of contents very similar to my cover, as I use the same fonts, colors, and text box types. For more serious stories, I used the bold-capitalized font. For lighter matters, the pretty cursive presents them nicely. This juxtaposition highlights that there are both ups and downs to the feminist movement where it stands currently. I also used pictures that I took and edited to provide more context to my stories titles. The specific story titles I felt best represented all the issues across the feminist perspective, which include discrimination issues, anti-feminism movements, knowledge and awareness. I feel my magazine is highly educational, which is why I featured an explanatory piece on the gender spectrum. I purposefully structured my table of contents similar to a collage or scrapbook to emphasize my "artsy-ish" approach. I also titled the contents "What's the issue?", as my magazine's main goal is to tackle the controversies of feminism, elaborate on them, and clarify them. 
3. Cover Story: My cover story is featured on my two-page spread. It originally maintained the same aesthetic as both my cover and table of contents. However, the font choice and quirkiness of the photos didn't quite match up, so I decided to create a more cork-board, homemade kind of feel. The dichotomy of the fun design against the serious nature of the article itself encompasses both aspects of the feminist movement, which are the vibrant, warm, community feel along with the crucial goals. The contrast also appeals to my wider range of audience members. The article itself highlights all four components of my research, which I will discuss on the next slide.

• Research: In order to present my magazine and its premise most respectfully and appropriately, I did extensive research and drew insight from many of my peers and mentors. Most of my data is evident in the cover story, but across my magazine, from titles to photos, the research I conducted is present. I used many legitimate internet-based sources from psychologists, historians, and activists. The reason I gathered my information so precisely is because my topic is pretty risky to execute without offending anybody, and I wanted to ensure that if I was going to rub some people the wrong way, I would do so with sufficient support and factual data. I did not include anything in my magazine that I did not find to be a widely discussed and supported topic in my research. My research primarily focuses on the four bullets listed here: the roots of feminism, the tenets of feminism, modern feminism, and the goals of feminism. These are thoroughly highlighted in my cover story.
• Reasoning: My intention behind this project was to voice a side myself that had never been heard. Despite the fact that I am highly observant, I am not normally one to make a statement. I weighed a lot of diverse topics to choose from, but I ultimately chose feminism because it represents a bigger, broader concept: equality. I felt that equality covers a wide range of issues that appeal to many. It is also something I 100% stand by and encourage. Although I didn't outwardly identify as a feminist before this project, this magazine has given me the arena to now do so. My project goes beyond the typical guy vs girl battle that usually encompasses feminism, as well as shuts down the stereotype that feminists are flashy and provocative. My magazine focuses on individual people instead of categories or groups.
• Audience and Distribution: A good portion of my magazine relies on audience interaction and collaboration. Specifically with the monthly inspiration board, featured on my table of contents, all photos, quotes, and artwork are gathered via audience submission. The inspiration board also provides a platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase and possibly sell their work. This component highlights the support system that my magazine fosters through the community and equality it promotes. If I were to mass-produce my magazine, I would facilitate monthly issues with new themes, as well as new inspiration boards with each issue. In order to generate enough audience members and submissions, I would reach out to my range of ages through social media accounts, a Fembrace website, and mailed post card advertisements. I believe planting the seed through these venues is enough due to the appealing nature of the concept, so not much marketing would be needed beyond that.
• My Journey: I can honestly say I am sad that this project is coming to a close. I invested so much time and effort into this and am truly proud of my work. It's almost weird to me that this magazine isn't actually real. Although my career path as of right now does not include magazine production, I know that I love to write and create, so if things don't go as planned, this would be a wonderful alternative. Throughout these past 6 weeks,  I have learned how to combine my literary voice with meaningful research in order to manifest a legitimate product. Before this, I only ever did academic work separate from creative writing. I am happy to have finally been given the chance to synchronize the two. I am surprised at how quickly I was able to develop photo editing/magazine layout skills; I'm not normally a visually artistic individual, and this allowed me to bring that side of myself to life.
• Tools and Resources: For layout and design, I utilized Microsoft Word. For photo editing, I utilized both Paint.net and the Google Nix Collection. For my critical reflection, I combined Microsoft PowerPoint and VoiceThread. The remainder of my resources reside in my blog, along with their citations.

I hope you enjoyed my project.

Almost There

I'm thrilled to announce that my table of contents and cover have been completed. I'm super happy with the outcome and I cannot wait to display them next week :)

Note: The light blue of the original emblem photographed horribly as it was completely washed out by the flash. Luckily, the poster board was reversible and featured a nice dark blue.

My original cover idea fell to pieces, sadly, but luckily I improvised and used a new approach to get across my message whilst still maintaining my theme. I am going to try and implement my old cover idea into the two-page spread.

Just to show my evolution of thought, I'm going to post the original cover idea's outcome and talk about my problems with it.

NOT MY COVER DON'T BE ALARMED

Appropriately saved to my laptop as "coverfail", here we are. I didn't even complete aligning everything because I knew it was a waste of time. My problems with this cover are that it is messy, allows no room for any cover titles/text, and simply appears juvenile. (I think I came up with better presentations in first grade.) My concept was striving for a physical representation of the equality I am trying to promote. I put the photos side-by-side featuring people of different genders, race, and sexual orientation in order to symbolize this. I tried to spruce everything up with photo editing but to me, it just looks tacky and tasteless, completely undermining the sophistication I am aiming for. 

My new cover, which I don't want to post until everything is completely refined, features only Kelly's photo. I deemed this appropriate because she is the main highlight of my cover story. The rest of the photos I am incorporating into the rest of my spread (not all but the ones I feel fit). My simpler yet still artsy new cover definitely appeals to a wider range of audiences, as my old cover appealed to perhaps 6-8 year olds.

I am now going to refine my cover and contents, as well as layout my two-page cover story spread. I am so excited.

Also, being the fairly responsible person I am, I started my critical reflection. (Just going over research and reasoning behind choices I've already made.) However, I was utilizing prezi, which is no longer a viable option due to the free trial expiring in 30 days. I am going to play around with voicethread this week. (I'm not even sure what it is which is why I am not elaborating on it. When I mess around with it I will post about the experience. I'm sure it will be riveting.)

All for now, stay tuned :)

Stuff Has Been Done!!!

After a glorious two hour nap following dismissal from school yesterday, I felt energized enough to get a lot of stuff done!! ("Energized enough" is a complete overstatement, but hey, whether I was fully conscious for it or not, I still did some werk.)

Disclaimers: Despite my constant struggle to stay awake, I am not an avid coffee drinker and did not partake in any caffeine consumption during the making of this post. (Maybe I should have.)

I drafted my cover story void of the quotes I am going to be using from Kelly. She is answering my questions and turning them over to me by this coming Tuesday.

Overall, I am very happy with the makeup of my cover story thus far. It discusses the roots of feminism, the reasoning behind the movement, and where it stands today. My depiction of current feminism includes the differing branches of it and the problems inherent in it. I also incorporated a few witty lines from previous blog posts I made during the research portion of this project. (Throwback Thursday, am I right?)

As if I hadn't already fulfilled enough responsibility for one day, I ventured onward. *gasp* (Yes, this is surprising because I am now a fourth quarter senior and desire to do absolutely nothing.)

I constructed the feminine emblem that will be featured on my cover. It's a little flimsy, but as long as I use competent models, I think it will work. If it gives me problems, though, I plan to reinforce it two-ply by tracing it onto the second poster I purchased (in case of a screw up) and then cutting it out and pasting the two together.  Yay. This is the before and after.

And finally, I decided to start collecting some opinions on the definition for "feminism" by tweeting out a plea for input. I don't go on Twitter a lot, but when I do, I am extremely annoying.

Despite my three very obnoxious attempts, I only got three responses. I am planning on approaching random people in school so I can get some more variety. (You can't scroll past me in person. Ah, the beauty of real life interaction.)

I am finally starting to see everything come together and I am super excited. Tonight, I am going to post on Facebook asking for feminism definitions which will hopefully add some more age range to the answers. And tomorrow, I am bringing my camera and feminine symbol to school so I can take pictures of Kelly as well as other volunteers with it.

WoO!

Sweet Relief

After a friendly exchange with Stoklosa, I am feeling reassured. I am on the right track and just need to keep at it. I am making some minor changes to my approach: I am going to combine artsy fartsy with nice and neat through a mixture of colors, plainness, charisma, and sophistication. I feel this strategy perfectly captures the seriousness of my topic while still appealing to the audience. Let's hope for the best.

Unfortunately, Lucid Press and I are getting a divorce. Turns out that love comes at a price, specifically $5.95 per month for only the basic plan. Not exactly long-term commitment material; at least not for me.

Tonight, I am going to be ditching the internet and messing around with Microsoft Word. I have already purchased the materials for the feminine symbol I am planning to use for the cover. Although the emblem will still be incorporated, I am going to alter the concept of my cover a tad. Once I have the actual photos, I will be able to showcase the change. Change is coming; you'll just have to wait for it. I will tell you, though, that the reasons behind this change are to clarify the symbolism behind my cover and to present it in a way that is effective. I feel this reconsideration of my cover is long overdue.

Things I still need to figure out/do:

1. The layout and look of the table of contents. I am thinking it won't deviate too much from the cover's overall tone, however it will feature photos based on the titles featured.
2. The cover story. I just emailed Kelli who will be adding insight to the makeup of it based on these questions I sent her:                                                                                                             Who are you? :) (a literal interpretation is fine, but if you want to delve into abstract concepts involving the universe and whatnot, you may)
   
   Define feminism in your own words.
   What does feminism mean to you personally?
   What do you find are the biggest issues concerning modern feminism, if any?
   What do you feel is the best way to tackle these issues (no need to elaborate on all of them if there's a lot or if you're lazy)?
   What are some positive aspects of modern feminism that you've noticed, if any?
   What inspires you?
   Feel free to add anything you feel would contribute to the article. I am going to use her answers to highlight my research and to shape my argument. I am also going to ask the other models for my cover to define feminism, which I will feature either in the article or on the cover itself. This will add an array of responses in order to highlight the differentiating perspectives of feminism due to ignorance, intolerance, and misconception. 
3. The photos; I plan to have all photos by this Sunday.

I believe that's all for updates. Over and out!

(That was dumb.)